While we've all taken different journeys into home lab experiments, one of the mainstays is running your own NAS with an operating system like TrueNAS. You get to use your own choice of hardware, which can be significantly more potent than bespoke NAS enclosures, and you get more ways of doing things. Plus, you get to choose your file system, and if you're not picking ZFS, then I'm here to say you're wrong.

Some of you might not agree with me, but I believe we don't need more powerful products. The current crop of PC hardware is plenty powerful for whatever one wishes to do with their PC. Every successive generation of CPUs and GPUs should aim for bigger numbers, but that doesn't need to be the priority anymore. The PC hardware industry has far bigger kinks to iron out — unfinished products, an unhealthy focus on AI, runaway pricing, and paper launches. We don't want record-breaking GPUs or faster CPUs; for once, give us lasting products that most of us can realistically own.

It can be argued that one of the most important companies to ever be involved with the arts is Disney. The company has influenced generations of people with their animations and feature films, and had a big impact on the world of video games. Disney games have been part of the childhoods of kids around the world, and have been impactful on the industry in ways that changed it positively forever. Whether it was during the 16-bit era or the modern day on home consoles, the effect that Disney-related games had can be seen and felt even today.

Well, here we are. This month's Patch Tuesday is also the end-of-life date for Windows 10. While people who are signed up for the Windows 10 extended support scheme will still receive security updates for at least another year, we'll see no more patches that address anything other than threats to the operating system.

Samsung is finally about to reveal more details about its Project Moohan mixed reality headset. The company just announced a new “Worlds Wide Open” Galaxy event that will take place on October 21st at 10PM ET, where it’s promising to reveal details about the device.The headset will run on Android XR, a new mixed reality platform developed by Samsung, Google, and Qualcomm, and Samsung says that it is “designed to scale across form factors, bringing AI to the center of immersive, everyday experiences.” My colleague Victoria Song initially got to try the headset and Android XR in late 2024, and nearly a year later, it seems Samsung is ready for the headset’s full launch.“Project Moohan is the groundbreaking first product built for the open and scalable Android XR platform, and it seamlessly blends everyday utility with immersive new experiences,” Samsung says. “This is where the true potential of XR comes alive, unlocking a whole new dimension of possibilities.”The event is being announced as Apple is reportedly close to launching a new version of its Vision Pro headset that’s powered by a faster chip. A headset that looks to be a new Vision Pro has also appeared in FCC filings. But Apple may be starting to look beyond headsets toward a new type of product; it has apparently sidelined work on a lighter version of the Vision Pro to prioritize development on smart glasses instead.Update, October 14th: Added details from Samsung.

Netflix is no longer just a home for TV shows, movies, documentaries, and live WWE matches — soon, you’ll be able to stream video podcasts, too. The streaming giant announced on Tuesday that it’s partnering with Spotify’s podcast studio and The Ringer to offer 16 series on its platform, including The Bill Simmons Podcast, Conspiracy Theories, as well as The Ringer’s shows on the NFL, NBA, Fantasy Football, and F1.The podcasts will appear on Netflix in the US starting in 2026 before expanding to other countries. As part of the deal, the shows won’t appear “in their entirety” on YouTube, according to a report from The New York Times. Not only is YouTube Netflix’s biggest rival, it also tops Spotify and Apple Music as the most popular podcast streaming platform, raking in more than 1 billion listeners each month. Video podcasts, which show hosts during their conversations, are becoming increasingly popular as creators try to expand their reach across social media.Netflix won’t show commercial breaks for this first round of video podcasts, but Spotify’s ads within the podcasts will remain, the Times reports. The streaming service already produces several podcasts about its shows, like You Cannot Make This Up, Skip Intro, and We Have the Receipts, which also appear on YouTube. In April, Netflix co-CEO Ted Sarandos hinted at bringing podcasts to the platform during an earnings call, saying, “As the popularity of video podcasts grow, I suspect you’ll see some of them find their way to Netflix.”It sounds like Spotify has more plans to expand the reach of its podcasts, too, as the company says it aims to “bring similar opportunities to a wider range of creators” in the future. You can view the full list of podcasts coming to Netflix on the company’s website.

As of today, Windows 10 will no longer receive non-security support. As long as you're enrolled in the extended support plan, you'll continue to get security-critical updates for at least another year. This should keep the operating system safe to connect to the internet, but it does mean that you won't get any more cool features or patches for annoying issues.

We knew that Samsung had a new headset in the works, and it's now finally ready to unveil its latest project to the public. The brand's first Android XR headset, Project Moohan, will finally make its official debut on October 21.

Automation tools are some of the best QoL services I’ve deployed in my home lab, though they can require a little bit of finesse to master. This holds especially true for DevOps and sysadmin-centric utilities, as they often require tons of scripts and terminal commands. Ansible is one such tool, and it’s perfect for configuring virtual machines and containers en-masse. Unfortunately, its CLI-heavy nature can make it rather complex and clunky to use, especially once you create as many Ansible documents as I do.

If you're looking for a powerful charger that can handle all your devices, then this Anker Prime charging station is going to be one to consider. Not only are you getting a ton of ports with four USB-C and two USB-A, but the device also delivers up to 250W in total power. Furthermore, the product also has a front display that can show you the charging behavior of devices.

Google might have yet another Pixel with a battery problem, and this time, affecting the brand new Pixel 10 Pro Fold. In a video published today, YouTuber JerryRigEverything, aka Zack Nelson, subjected the foldable to his usual durability tests, but as he’s filming his bend test — after having already broken the phone open — the battery expands, appears to overheat, emits enough smoke to set off a nearby fire alarm, and ultimately ends up as a charred wreckage on his testing table.To be fair, Nelson puts an extraordinary amount of stress on the phone. He originally breaks open the phone by bending it backwards while the phone is fully unfolded, and the battery doesn’t swell up until he exerts a lot of force on the broken part of the phone in such a way that he’s essentially folding the screen behind itself.That’s not a scenario any normal person is going to encounter day to day. But it’s still unusual even given the extreme circumstances, according to Nelson. He says he hasn’t seen anything like it during prior tests.“Surprisingly, in the decade that I’ve been durability-testing phones, I have never had a smartphone explode before,” Nelson says. “The Pixel 10 Pro Fold is the first phone to go up in smoke.” And while he notes that this is an “extreme test,” he adds that “I’ve also subjected every mainstream smartphone made in the past 10 years to these exact same tests. And this is the first time I’ve ever had one fail so spectacularly to the point where my fire alarm is going off.”Google didn’t immediately reply to a request for comment. But this isn’t the first of Google’s battery issues this year: the company updated the Pixel 6A to “address a potential battery overheating risk,” and it also pushed an update to the Pixel 4A to “improve the stability of their battery’s performance.”“As dramatic as a battery fire is, we don’t think this is necessarily a sign that something is wrong with the Pixel 10 Pro Fold design,” iFixit’s Elizabeth Chamberlain tells The Verge. “The possibility of thermal runaway is just a reality of Li-ion batteries. Looks like Zack probably didn’t discharge the battery before opening up the phone (most new phones have 60%+ charge out of the box). We usually recommend discharging a battery below 25%, but with the extreme stresses Zack places on devices, that may even be too high.Chamberlain adds that “thermal runaway is basically a local short circuit, and it is most likely to happen when you break through the insulating layers of a jelly roll-style battery.” She also pointed to a post and a video from iFixit about batteries catching fire.Nelson put the Pixel 10 Pro Fold’s IP68 dust resistance to the test, too. While Google has called the phone its “most durable foldable yet” and highlighted the benefits of the phone’s gearless hinge, Nelson pours some dust right onto the hinge and opens and closes the phone, resulting in some sickening crunches as dust gets stuck inside. “This is kind of embarrassing,” Nelson says. 

It's no secret that NotebookLM has become a fast favorite tool here, especially because of how well it helps dissect complex research topics. But Google isn't the only AI model provider out there, and you're handing even more of your data to the search giant in return for using Gemini's models. I've been trying to self-host more services to reduce my dependence on the big cloud providers, so naturally I went looking to see if there was an alternative to NotebookLM.